Torture is unnecessary

Everyone knows how confessions are sometimes obtained. Often they are produced with fists, dubs, and anything else that may come to hand. Torture has become part and parcel of any investigation. The new code says that evidence given in the absence of a defence lawyer and not con­firmed in court is deemed unacceptable, null and void.

Under the new UPK, torture becomes unnecessary. Thus the Russian judicial system abandons for good the medieval postulate, reanimated by the notorious Soviet inquisitor, whereby confession is the main proof of a defendant’s guilt. The new UPK grants the right to appeal in court all decisions and actions by an inquiring officer, investigator, or prosecutor should any party to the trial think that his rights and freedoms under the Constitution have been violated.

PLEA BARGAINING

The new code considerably expands the rights of parties to the judicial process. This applies above all to the defendant and the aggrieved party. If the defendant agrees with the charges levelled against him and asks for a conviction to be made without a trial, his request may be taken into account and a significantly lesser sentence may be passed. The court may use this simplified procedure (plea bargaining) only if the state or private prosecutor and the aggrieved party agree with this and if the court is convinced that the defendant's plea and the plaintiff’s consent were not made under duress.

The new UPK bans the practice of sending criminal cases back for additional investigation. The court will no longer let investigators patch up shoddy work or scrape around for new evidence. Once a case has been accepted for consideration, it must be decided on its merits, leading to either a conviction or an acquittal. Yet another important change concerns the appeals procedure. The prevailing procedure is cassation. That is to say, a cassation agency only considers a case on evidence that has already been gathered. The new UPK restores the procedure of appealing against court judgments. Some roundtable participants wholeheartedly supported the changes made in the new UPK while others voiced reservations.

Assignments

Ex. 1. Translate into Russian.

To build a rule of a state; to bring back to the principles of criminal procedure and justice; to be guilty; to be innocent; under the new UPK; to work

on a criminal case; to probe a crime; to look for evidence of a defendant’s guilt; to take into account evidence of a defendant’s innocence; to be accused of having a prosecutorial bias; a criminal investigation process; to drop the concept of search for the truth; to accuse a person of crime; to obtain in violation of the law; to acquit the defendant; to take every conceivable measure to prove a criminal’s guilt; to be dominated by the pre-trial component; to convert evidence obtained by the investigation into a guilty verdict; to issue a warrant; to take a person into custody; to extend the term of detention; to be part and parcel of investigation; to take on prosecutorial functions; to be deemed unacceptable, null and void; to grant the right to appeal on court; to bargain plea; to be made under duress; to send criminal cases back for additional investigation; to patch up shoddy work; to scrape around for new evidence; to appeal against court judgment.

Ex. 2. Find the English equivalents.

Предоставить право подавать на апелляцию в суде; брать кого-либо под стражу; преобразовать доказательства, полученные в ходе исследования в вердикт виновности; быть сделанным под давлением; получить что-либо путём нарушения закона; уголовно исследовательский процесс; вести судебные разбирательства; быть обвинённым в предвзятом отношении обвинительной стороны; принимать во внимание невиновность обвиняемого (ответчика); расследовать уголовное преступление; принять все возможные меры, чтобы доказать уголовную вину; выполнять обвинительные функции; согласно новому уголовно-процессуальному кодексу; собирать по крупицам новые доказательства; принцип ведения уголовных дел; построить правовое государство; искать доказательства вины обвиняемого; выступать против судебного решения; не учитывать концепцию поиска истины; обвинить человека в совершении преступления; увеличить срок задержания; считаться неприемлемым, утратившим законную силу; оправдать обвиняемого; считать главным фактором состояние дел до судебного разбирательства; выдать доверенность; вернуть уголовные дела для дополнительного расследования.

Ex. 3. Answer the questions.

1. What did all roundtable participants agree in? 2. What are the two sides competing before the judge? 3. How may an investigator act under the new UPK? 4. Comment on the hypocrisy that occurs in the two-pronged approach? 5. What kind of controversy appeared in the legal community since the judicial process becomes adversarial? 6. Why doesn’t always truth triumph in court? 7. Will the court be obliged to take on prosecutorial functions, under the new code? 8. Why is court inclusion into the pre-trial stages of the criminal process of paramount importance? Enumerate the court’s functions. 9. What kind of evidence is deemed unacceptable, null and void? 10. What does the new UPK grant? 11. Comment on the sentence that the new code considerably expands the rights of parties to the judicial process. 12. What are the bans of the new UPK? 13. Is the procedure of appealing against court judgment restored, under the new UPK? 14. What is your attitude to a new code of criminal procedure?

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14